Copper prices fall after rally

Copper fell during the afternoon as investors took some risk off the table following yesterday’s rally.

The industrial metal traded at $3.634 per pound, down 0.3% on the day. Copper rose earlier today, led by news about South Korea's central bank planning to buy up to $300 million in Chinese stocks over the next three months. According to a Shanghai-based trader, 'The news gave a boost to Chinese equities and lifted Shanghai copper prices, which opened an arbitrage window for traders to sell on Shanghai and buy on London'.

We have also heard of a lot of short-covering in copper on the Shanghai Futures Exchange. 'The euro moving up could have contributed too,' said an LME trader, noting that LME copper prices began rising also around the same time as when the euro started paring losses.